Postdoctoral Fellow

Salary for this Role:

From £47,500 with benefits, subject to skills and experience.

Job Title:

Postdoctoral Fellow

Reports to:

Sonia Gandhi [C]

Closing Date:

26/Jun/2026 23.59 GMT

Job Description:

Postdoctoral Fellow – Gandhi Lab

Contract term: This is a full-time, fixed term (4 years) position on Crick terms and conditions of employment.

Reports to: Sonia Gandhi, Principal Group Leader

Salary for this Role: From £47,500 with benefits, subject to skills and experience

Application Deadline: Friday 26th June 2026 at 11.55pm

About us

The Francis Crick Institute is Europe’s largest biomedical research institute under one roof. Our world-class scientists and staff collaborate on vital research to help prevent, diagnose and treat illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, infectious diseases and neurodegenerative conditions.

The Crick is a place for collaboration, innovation and exploration across many disciplines. A space where the brightest minds can pursue big and bold ideas and discover answers to crucial scientific questions. We support them in a dynamic environment which fosters excellence with state-of-the-art infrastructure, cutting-edge facilities, and a creative and curious culture. We’ve removed traditional boundaries of departments, divisions and disciplines and instead have an open approach that supports every researcher. This gives us the freedom to take risks and carry out high-quality, pioneering research. Creating a space for discovery without boundaries helps us to turn our science into benefits for human health and the economy.

About the Gandhi Lab

The Gandhi Lab investigates how protein misfolding drives neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s disease, combining patient-derived stem cell models, advanced microscopy and multi-omic approaches to uncover new biomarkers, diagnostics and therapeutic strategies.

About the Project

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is an incurable neurodegenerative disorder in which aggregation of the protein alpha-synuclein is strongly linked to disease onset and progression.

This project aims to answer the question: ‘How can novel detection methods help unlock new insights from patient-derived models of Parkinson’s disease?’

The successful candidate will use super-resolution microscopy and single-molecule live-cell imaging approaches to investigate toxic protein oligomers implicated in neurodegeneration.

Working with human iPSC-derived cell types, the project will provide new insight into the dynamics and behaviour of disease-associated protein species and their contributions to PD mechanisms.

Postdoctoral Fellows will lead their own projects, contribute collaborative across the lab and with external collaborators and may support PhD students in their research.

What you’ll be doing

You will be responsible for:

• Designing and delivering research projects in consultation with the PI.
• Applying advanced live-cell super-resolution microscopy approaches.
• Developing bespoke analysis workflows for imaging datasets.
• Conducting mammalian and hiPSC-derived cell culture work.
• Generating and characterising stable cell lines and recombinant proteins.
• Analysing experimental data and maintaining accurate research records.
• Collaborating with multidisciplinary internal and external researchers.
• Presenting findings at lab meetings, conferences and scientific meetings.
• Drafting manuscripts for publication

Click to see the full job description

Click to find out more about the Gandhi Lab

About you

Essential:

(Minimum criteria*)

• PhD in biophysics or physical chemistry (with application in cells)
• Demonstrable expertise in live-cell super-resolution microscopy methods.
• Experience working with mammalian cell culture.
• Demonstrable experience in generating stable cell lines and protein tagging approaches.
• Demonstrable experience in purifying and labelling recombinant proteins for single-molecule studies.
• Demonstrable experience developing analysis workflows for imaging datasets.
• Strong publication track record and evidence of scientific presentations.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams.
• A proactive, curious and resilient approach to research.

Desirable

• Knowledge of LIVE-PAINT and PALM.
• Background in neurodegeneration research.
• Experience in synthetic biology or protein design.
• Experience with human iPSC culture.
• Interest in developing advanced imaging technologies for neuroscience research.

About Working at the Crick

Our values

Everyone who works at the Crick has a valuable role to play in advancing the Crick’s mission and shaping our culture!

• We are bold. We make space for creative, dynamic and imaginative ideas and approaches. We’re not afraid to do things differently.

• We are open. We’re highly collaborative and interactive, and make sure our activities are visible to the outside world.

• We are collegial. We show respect for one another, work cooperatively and support the wider community.

At the Francis Crick Institute, we believe that diversity and inclusion are essential to driving innovation and scientific discovery. We are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered to succeed, regardless of their background, identity, or personal circumstances. We actively encourage applications from individuals of all genders, ethnicities, abilities, and experiences. We are a Disability Confident: Committed employer and want to ensure that everyone can apply and be part of our recruitment processes and so we'll make reasonable adjustments if you need them - just let us know when you apply. If you need assistance with applying (i.e., would like to apply by phone or post) please email: ruby.oluwafemi@crick.ac.uk.

Find out more about life at the Crick.

What will you receive?

At the Francis Crick Institute, we value our team members and are proud to offer an extensive range of benefits to support their well-being and development:

• Visas: Applicants for this role will be eligible for sponsorship to work in the UK

• Generous Leave: 28 days of annual leave, plus three additional days over Christmas and bank holidays.

• Pension Scheme: Defined contribution pension with employer contributions of up to 16%.

• Health & Well-being:

• 24/7 GP consultation services.

• Occupational health services and mental health support programs.

• Eye care vouchers and discounted healthcare plans.

• Work-Life Balance:

• Back-up care for dependents.

• Childcare support allowance.

• Annual leave purchase options.
• Crick Networks offering diverse groups’ support, community and inclusive social events.

• Perks:

• Discounted gym memberships, bike-to-work scheme, and shopping discounts.

• Subsidised on-site restaurant and social spaces for team interaction.
• Career support: A Post-doc to PI programme and other career development activities

Please note you must meet the essential criteria listed within the Role Profile, to have your application reviewed.

We reserve the right to withdraw this advert at any given time due to the number of applications received.